


At the edge of the world

by Jmt91



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Battle, Confessions, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26844037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmt91/pseuds/Jmt91
Summary: Sephiroth defeated and the battle won. At least, she thought it was. Tifa searches for Cloud to find his still body bloodied and broken.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	At the edge of the world

"C..Cloud?" Tifa's voice stammered as she stared at the crumpled body of the man she loved. He was so still, so broken, with one hand still clinging tightly to his now bloodied buster sword. His once blonde hair was crusted in thick, brown mud. 

The others told her to stay back, to let Cloud and Sephiroth fight alone, but that voice in her head, shouting at her to head back down into the depths of the crater took hold.

She watched the final strike, the blow which gave Cloud his victory that he had sought after all those years, but even victory had its cost. She watched as the Ex-Soldier's legs buckled under his weight, the last breath escape his lungs as he collapsed onto the unforgiving ground. She watched as he did not get back up.

"Cloud... Please," Tifa stammered again. Gently, she knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his arm. "It's all over now, you don't have to fight anymore."

A slight movement caught Tifa's eye. A hand, or maybe just a finger, twitched ever so slightly. Then, nothing. 

_Just keep talking. He needs to find you again_.

++

Everything was so dark, so cold, yet strangely calm. There was nothing around and Cloud welcomed the silence. For the first time since he could remember, his mind was at ease. 

It was all over now, he thought it was anyways. Before, there was so much pain and anger which coarsed through his veins. The conniptions which built up inside before it fulminated into his final, vehement attack. He remembered the look on Sephiroth's face when he realised he had lost. It wasn't sadness, or anger. It was betrayal. Then, all that anger that had led Cloud for so long just... vanished. His journey was over. There was nothing left for him now.

"C, cloud?" An echo came, so soft he could barely hear it. Not now, he needed this. His body ached, or did it? He couldn't tell. He wasn't even sure of that now. Cloud tried to open his eyes, to see where the voice came from. But nothing. Were his eyes even open? There was no difference, no escaping the impenetrable darkness which engulfed him. There was no point really, he knew, to even entertain what he had heard. It was over. There was nothing left. 

_Don't ignore her._

"Cloud... Please," the voice, again. Did he recognise it? There was nobody else where he was, nothing. Nothing. "It's all over, you don't have to fight anymore." Cloud flinched. That voice. He knew that serene, beautiful voice, but where? And why were they telling him not to fight? He wasn't fighting. He would never have to again. All he had to do was to lay here, forever. But the voice. Cloud tried to open his eyes. Still darkness. 

"You just need to wake up. That's all. Wake up and I can help you." But who are you? Cloud tried so hard to remember. His mind was filled with fog. He knew her. More than anyone else. And just hearing her voice gave Cloud a feeling nothing else ever had. He just needed to remember. 

_You know her. Just open your eyes._

"Cloud, it's me. It's... It's Tifa, please wake up, for me?" Tifa? Tifa! Cloud shouted her name again and again. He no longer felt calm. He didn't want to be here anymore. "Please, don't leave me. Not again," Tifa sobbed and Cloud's heart broke. Her tears were because of him. He needed to help her, hold her, do whatever he could to make sure she never cried again. Not because of him. He was going to find her. 

_Good_. 

++

Wiping the tears from her dust-covered cheeks, Tifa began to lose hope. Sephiroth was a formidable opponent, the strongest any of them had ever faced. Even though it was a victory, it was still too much for Cloud. She clasped his hand tightly and pulled it up to her face. His glove was burned and ripped, and the material scratched against her skin but she didn't care. Tighter and tighter she gripped, the tears streaming faster and faster until she couldn't contain it any longer. He was gone, truly gone. 

As she let out a cry, Tifa's head slumped onto Cloud's chest. 

"You can't do this... Not after everything we've been through," her voice was so quiet now, it was barely a whisper. "I didn't even get to tell you that I love you," she gasped as the words escaped her. Tifa knew then that she should have told Cloud the moment he set foot back in her life. And every day since. "I've always loved you. And I always will, but now... Now it's too late, and... And you'll never know just how much."

_You did it. I knew you would._

"Tifa," Tifa jumped up and stared and the still Ex-Soldier's face. His eyes were still closed and he body unmoving. Just then, a tiny flicker and Tifa froze. His head flinched and his lips pursed. Her grip tightened on his hand and his eyes scrunched before slowly opening. He stared at Tifa and smiled, shakily lifting his other hand to caress her cheek. "I love you too."


End file.
